It is desirable in restaurants and other institutional cooking establishments to have a source of hot water for various cooking purposes. For example, hot water is necessary in the preparation of soups, pastas, gravies, pizza dough and other dishes. Additionally, a source of hot water is desirable in the preparation of hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and other hot or brewed beverages. Moreover, a source of hot water is desirable for various cleaning purposes.
Having a range of temperatures of hot water readily available is desired by many restaurants because the various food products prepared at such restaurants may require different hot water temperatures for their preparation. Conventional hot water dispensers may have disadvantages. In particular, it may be inconvenient and impractical to have to modify the dispenser whenever a water dispensing temperature outside the current operating range of the dispenser is needed. Unfortunately, in a restaurant or other cooking environment, the need to modify the machine arises frequently because of the different water temperatures necessary to produce different types of food. Another drawback may be the inability of existing dispensers to produce water of a desired temperature quickly. Such delay can be disadvantageous in a restaurant or other cooking environment in which efficient service is important. A further drawback is wastage of hot water, because of user-related error in dispensing; i.e., users of the machine often dispense too much water from the machine. Users can also dispense water of the incorrect temperature unwittingly, which degrades the quality of the food or beverage being prepared. Thus there is a need for a machine that can dispense a selection of pre-selected volumes of water at a variety of pre-selected temperatures.
Briefly, in accordance with the foregoing, disclosed are an apparatus, system, and method for dispensing hot water at a variety of volumes and at a variety of temperatures. Although water is used throughout this disclosure, the present apparatus, system, and method may be used with any fluid. The apparatus includes at least two tanks, a hot water tank containing water a generally steady temperature that is higher than or equal to a pre-selected dispensing temperature and at least one other tank containing water that has a generally steady temperature that is lower than or equal to the pre-selected dispensing temperature. Flow from the respective tanks is controlled by outlet valves associated with a controller. A calculated volume of water is controllably dispensed from each tank into a common dispensing passage or mixing area. A temperature sensor coupled with the controller and associated with the common dispensing passage detects the mixed water temperature prior to dispensing. The controller receives a signal from the sensor for providing feedback about the water temperature. The mixed water is then dispensed into a container which may be weighed by an associated scale to determine the volume of water dispensed. A flow sensor coupled to the controller may be used in place of or in addition to the scale to determine the volume of water dispensed.
Additional features and embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings.
The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the disclosure that is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.